WSR 98-24-103

PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[Filed December 2, 1998, 8:19 a.m.]

Subject of Possible Rule Making: New rules on sheep and goat scrapie disease control.

Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 16.36.040.

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: The disease scrapie has been named by the United States sheep producers as the number one problem in their industry. These rules will help trace scrapie positive animals to their parent flocks and provides for the quarantine of infected flocks.

Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: USDA-APHIS administers the voluntary scrapie control program. Federal rules have mandated that states quarantine scrapie flocks or no sheep from a state that does not so quarantine will not be able to move sheep interstate.

Process for Developing New Rule: Request from Washington sheep producers. The animal health program has worked with a scrapie committee from the producers for two years to develop proposed rules. Anyone wishing to receive information on the proposed rule should contact the department using the information listed below.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Dr. Robert W. Mead, State Veterinarian, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Food Safety/Animal Health Division, P.O. Box 42577, Olympia, WA 98405-2577 [98504-2577], (360) 902-1878, fax (360) 902-2087, e-mail rmead@agr.wa.gov.

December 2, 1998

Candace Jacobs, DVM

Assistant Director